Knack Out Today for PS4

Today PlayStation 4 launches; you might say that “next gen” has officially become “current gen”! Game creators have been hard at work, and I think game players have a lot to look forward to.

One of the launch titles is of course Knack, the game that I and the internal Japan Studio have been hard at work on for the last three and a half years. I love character action games, and over the years I’ve helped create a number of them, including Crash Bandicoot on the original PlayStation, and Jak and Daxter and Ratchet & Clank on PS2.

Our goal on this project was to bring back that kind of classic gameplay, but with a next-gen twist. Knack has the ability to pick up pieces of the environment and grow larger, so over the course of a level he can grow from a three foot tall “mascot” type character to a thirty foot tall rampaging monster. This is a kind of gameplay I’d never tried to create before, it gives a very unique feel from the game. We’ve also focused on the narrative that drives the action – there is a full CGI film worth of story embedded in the game.

We’ve kept two types of players in mind while creating Knack. One is hardcore players who like the old school challenge present in Crash Bandicoot and the like – those were tough games, and even on a Normal difficulty setting Knack will definitely keep you on your toes.

The other type of player we had in mind was light or beginner players. As lead system architect for PlayStation 4 I knew there that the launch lineup would include Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, Killzone Shadow Fall, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4 and other amazing AAA titles for the core gamer, but I wanted to be sure there would be something for the rest of the family – sons, daughters, spouses and the like. So on an Easy difficulty setting, Knack is a game that pretty much anyone can play. It can even be someone’s very first video game ever!

We’ve also added in style of local co-op play where an experienced gamer can help that beginner get up to speed – just pick up a second controller and play as Robo Knack. You can fight side by side with Knack, clear out enemies together, and if you build your strength far enough you can even heal Knack when he gets into trouble.

Another goal we had with Knack was to bring connected gaming to the character action genre. Scattered throughout the game are secret rooms with treasure chests – these hold parts of gadgets that can help Knack in his quest, as well as rare crystal relics. As you find these rooms and open the chests, you’ll be able to see items your friends have found there as well, and choose which item you want as your reward. As a result, the more friends you have playing the game, the faster Knack can gain his special abilities!

We’ve also worked to push the boundaries of play past the living room – we created Knack’s Quest, a free “match 3” puzzle game for iOS. An Android version will be coming soon. By playing this game on your smartphone or tablet, you can pick up these same gadget parts and crystal relics, and send them over via your PSN account for Knack to use in the PS4 title. You can work on unlocking items when you’re away from the console, or even enlist the help of someone else to do it for you.

That’s all for now! You can pick up Knack at your local retailer, or buy the digital version right from your PS4. We’ve been counting down the days until PS4 launches and the gaming world can see what we’ve been working on – really hope you enjoy it!

Comments

Regardless of certain media outlet’s reviews of Knack, I’m going to buy it for my 8-year old son anyway. From all the gameplay video and screenshots I’ve seen of the game, it looks fun, like a throwback to classic character action games of the PS1/PS2 eras. I’ll play the game and judge it for myself. Good work Mark on Knack as well as launching the best gaming console ever made!

Thanks for posting, Mark. Until Resogun was announced, this was my most anticipated launch title. I got a chance to play it at Comic-Con this year as well and really enjoyed it and I even died a few times. I can’t wait to play the full version later today when my PS4 finally shows up. :)

I’m a huge fan of your work, Mr. Cerny, so as soon as I get a PS4 I’ll definitely try out Knack! It’s a shame platformers aren’t as popular nowadays as they were back in the 90s, they’re my favorite type of game, especially 3D platformers with open levels like Spyro or Jak and Daxter. I hope we see more games like that in this new generation of consoles.

Game streaming has become a God-send for games such as Knack. After reading so many mixed reviews on this game, I watched a bunch of people live streaming it and I thought it looked amazing. Based on comments I’m seeing everywhere, a lot of people feel the same. They seemed disappointed when they read a bad review and then watched 30 minutes of the game and said, “THAT”S EXACTLY THE GAME I WANT!” I know that’s how it happened with me.
So I look forward to playing this one soon and playing some co-op with my 7yo daughter. It’s going to be a blast.

Got this last night. It’s very fun. Different than the other launch titles. It’s a great title to pick up and play for 30-40 minutes at a time to get a break from NBA2K or Battlefield, etc.. Don’t worry about the reviews. And yes, like #5 said, check out some live streams of it (which works so smooth and awesome). It’s a real fun, cool game.

was going to order the knack PS4 bundle but went with the Watchdogs bundle instead. When they delayed I tried to switch, total fail (watchdog order cancelled no knack available). no PS4, no knack and godammitsomuch ubisoft. will now patiently wait for uncharted while I pour another few hundred hours into Diablo.

I have this pre-ordered digitally so I just need to do a giant download now. I am looking forward to playing this with my son. I’m glad you made a launch game this is family friendly and has co-op. I am planning to beat it on easy first and then work myself up to normal difficulty. Any estimate on when the Android version of Knack’s Quest will be available?

read somewhere that you are an rpg fan.my question is will you ever develop an rpg for the ps4/vita?i’m really curious as to why you went for a platformer instead of an rpg.btw,does mark cerny answer his own blogs??

When I first played this I immediately thought of Crash Bandicoot and instantly loved it. My girlfriend and I have been playing together (thanks to my Vita) and she was excited to play it. I’m glad a game we both can enjoy launched with the system. Thanks, Mark.

Hello Mr Cerny. Thank you for leading the Sony hardware guys to the right direction. Im definitely getting one with my ps4. Im really excited for your next project. Please work with Japan Studio to create a JRPG which is your favorite genre, right? It would be awesome.

I was also disappointed after reading the reviews, but I still ended up buying the game to judge it for myself. I’m glad I did, its so much fun. My nephew and I have been playing the co op for hours now. Ya’ll should definitely check it out, at least rent it.

Playing Knack is like watching a dull movie on a plane – it’s tolerable if all you want is a way to pass the time, but it’s not something you’d seek out for its own sake. I finished in about 11 hours and, challenges, co-op, and secrets aside, there’s just not much here worth recommending.”

Not sure what happened here but the game seems like something that should be free with PS+, or likely will be very soon. Kind of worrying that a first party team is putting out such mediocrity, especially as this was meant to represent the renaissance of Studio Japan under the gaikokujin leader and better games have come out from the studios shut down by Yoshida (Zipper and Liverpool). Hope Japan Studio do much better in future as they have been the weakest link the whole past generation.

@Mattsta001: I wouldn’t just the game ’til you play it yourself. If I had gone by the reviews, I would have passed on the game. I didn’t though, and I’ve enjoyed all of the 3-4 hours I’ve put into it thus far. I think the review outlets are just being hard-asses for the sake of being hard-asses just because Knack is one of the few PS4-exclusive launch games.

At any rate, I’m also wondering about how to send items from Knack’s Quest on iOS to my PS4 game. I was playing it a bunch leading up to the PS4’s release and have unlocked several items. I’d love to be able to get them into my PS4 game.

Is it just locked somehow? Do you have to beat every stage in the game (Knack’s Quest) to unlock the sending feature?

Why can’t I figure out how to join the game as Robo Knack on the 2nd controller? Online manual doesn’t say how. And even this Blog for the game simply just says “just pick up a second controller and play as Robo Knack.”, but that doesn’t work either. Why is this so hard to do! I shouldn’t have to even look in a manual. As it’s sad that it isn’t even covered in the manual!

I finally figured it out on my own. And the answer is terrible. You can’t do co-op mode without at least 1 of the players being a PSN account holder that is logged in. I bought this game specifically for my 2 kids. Neither of my kids have a PSN account. So both of their profiles are just local PS4 profiles. If they both are logged in, Knack will only do single player mode. If I log in (which is a PSN account, not plus), I am able to join the game that is already in progress.

Beat the game today… well, yesterday and it was super fun and I loved it! Please don’t let the negative reviews get to you guys, you did a marvelous job. The game is exactly what you set out to create, people can either accept that or not.

The only criticisms I have are that it’s a bit jarring to see bodies disappear. The human’s teleporting when defeated looked incredibly awesome. The gust birds flying off was nice too. Anything that disappeared just looked a bit silly, it would have been nice for some solution to have been found for that for all enemies like the birds and humans.

That’s about it though. It’s a great game.

Criticism of the mobile app. It’s not on Vita… okay, just a personal annoyance. But, the endless mode should be tweaked with less transitions, or increase the requirement per level. The first round is over so quickly, and then 2 and 3 aren’t really tough to pass either. So you’re seeing a lot of the Knack growth and level transitions breaking up gameplay too often. Otherwise a solid match 3 game with no ads!

We are, in Panamá, waiting for the 28 to come (Midnight Release and then Black Friday)… OMG! I have my PS4 preordered with Killzone and Knack! No matter what the “critics” say, I know I will love this game!

@5: Yeah, I’ve seen that a lot. It’s nice that the livestreams are helping Knack reach more people despite all the (imo) unwarranted bad reviews. I don’t think the game should be below a 7 on metacritic. It’s a shame. Hopefully more people give some streams a look and see it for what it is. A fun solid game. (personally think it’s great though :P)

@23 – @31 – @33: I don’t know if this will help you at all, but try signing into PSN on the app then booting up Knack. Or do it while in Knack, I can’t remember how I got it to work. But it was something like that. I know it works, it’s just not as straight forward as it should be.

When it works they’ll be an option in the pause menu (I think I got the stuff in game) to import your stuff.

Hi Mark,
Congrats on finishing the game. Thanks for making it family friendly. I hope your team responds to some user feedback with patches, like more frequent and appropriately placed save points. After you deal with the Knack patches, take a long vacation!

An easy solution to the instantly disappearing defeated characters, would be to only get rid of them after they are off the screen for a short time. Could even play with that distance and time a little. But having the defeated enemies disappearing instantly is annoying to see and jarring as other have put it.

Mr. Cerny, this is a wonderful game! I preordered AC4, Killzone and Knack and I’ve logged the most hours into Knack so far. It definitely brings me back to old school platforming and I’m having a great time. Thank you and I’m looking forward to your next creation.